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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

In Thunderous Applause~

Sometimes, (dare I say most times) it happens before I even realize it is happening.

The way you drive through a stoplight, only to get to the other side of the intersection and find yourself asking "Did I even look at that light?"

The way you grab your jacket, take your last sip of coffee, latch onto your keys and head out the door in the morning, only to get in your car, drive half way to work and find yourself asking "Did I remember to lock the front door?"

It's not a case of being forgetful,
it's more a case of not being mindful.

We get caught up in the moment and our natural self goes on autopilot,
reacting and doing without us so much as thinking.

And while driving through an intersection without being mindful of the light is not good,
and while not remembering whether or not you locked your front door might keep you wondering about it all day,
there is a kind of natural reaction that is far worse than either of these.

A compliment is given.

An award is handed out.

A round of applause is heard.

A pat on the back is felt.

And . . . we
blush,
beam,
soak it in,
and stand up tall.

Without even thinking,
without being mindful at all,
we takes these forms of praise and we claim them as our own.

And, we forget what Mark Twain so quaintly and boldly reminded us of:

"Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work."

Before we even realize it is happening,
without being mindful of it at all,
self goes on autopilot,
and we
steal God's thunder.

Because you see,
any good thing in me,
(and dare I say)
any good thing in you -
any accomplishment,
any success,
any victory,
anything at all that causes those around us to
stand up and take notice
the way thunder catches our ear -
is simply a direct result of The Light,
His light,
working in us.

It is not us,
but God who deserves the praise.

It is not us,
but God who deserves thunderous applause.

When people in our life,
somehow miss "His lightning",
and only notice the
crackling,
thundering,
reverberating sound of His mighty work in our life,
it is our first and only duty
to direct their eyes to Him.

Only, we often don't.

Caught up in the flattery,
knee deep in compliments,
riding high on the accolades,
we say "thank you" and allow His thunder,
(a direct result of the work of His hands
lighting up
our gifts,
our talents,
our less than perfect efforts and attempts)now mistaken as ours,
to shine in the spotlight.

We may be the one heard,
the one noticed,
the one who others see,
but
it is our
duty,
honor,
privilege,and our only appropriate response
to point all the applause
back to our God,

Yes,
we might look good,
and we might seem impressive,
but it is God who does the work.

May we never forget to give Him the glory.

May we ever be mindful to sing His praise in thunderous applause.

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1 comment:

Verse for Today~

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Welcome~

Hi! I'm so glad you stopped by!

God is truly amazing! As I seek to know him more intimately, through the ordinary, day to day happenings of my life, I marvel to discover He is always faithful to leave heartprints of His love scattered across the pages of my life.

As you spend time here, I pray you, too, will start to see the Heartprints of God in your own life and be drawn ever closer to Him.

To God be the Glory-
~Stacy

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